
Jim got another prompt from Melanie for this week’s songfest: "amaze, astonish, curious, shock, surprise, wonder." The result: more blues!
"I Wonder" was from Robert Cray’s fourth album, Strong Persuader (1986). He wrote it, as he did most of his songs at this point. Cray was influenced primarily by Howlin’ Wolf, but here he sounds a lot like Otis Rush, both his singing and his guitar playing. There are also hints of Buddy Guy in both. Or maybe it’s the other way around. No matter: when I first heard this album, I said "this is what I’ve been waiting for!" Incredible guitar playing, great lyrics, Young Bob’s soulful voice… the blues was back. It actually had never left, but damn…
Am I a long way from your heart,
I wonder,
Is this where love is, heartache starts,
I wonder,
I wonder if you ever think about me,
And how good our old loving used to be,
Sometimes,
Sometimes I wonder
When you left with one last curious look,
I wonder,
I tried to call you,
You changed the number on me,
I really wonder
You tell me things to get me where you want me to be,
How come I feel you’re getting the best of me,
Sometimes,
I wonder
I hear a car coming round the corner,
I hear footsteps on my front porch,
I see a shadow from the light above,
I hear a voice,
Oh it’s not yours
Why does this happen,
What’s going on,
I wonder,
Could this be a dream,
Or has Bob gone crazy,
I wonder,
How come I feel your taking advantage of me,
Why can’t I get you out of me,
Sometimes,
Sometimes I wonder
They say that time will heal my broken heart,
I wonder,
Could it be that I’m blind,
All alone in the dark,
I wonder
I can’t help feeling this way,
If I could leave, I’d surely leave today,
Sometimes,
I wonder
It seems to me you still wanna be around
But when I see you, all hell starts breaking down,
Sometimes,
I wonder
mm hmm
I really wonder.
Lyrics courtesy AZLyrics.com
That’s Song Lyric Sunday (and Song of the Day) for June 19, 2022.
